Traffic congestion driving Vastrapur residents crazy

The rise in traffic volume on roads in areas of Vastrapur which used to be peaceful at all hours earlier is now grating on the nerves of their residents. Heavy rush of traffic because of commercial malls and religious place in the locality has made residents reluctant to leave home, particularly during weekends.

They say that in the evenings and during weekends it takes nearly 45 minutes to cover just 200 meter. The people of the affected area are so desperate to regain the lost peace of their locality that they are thinking of taking legal action to solve the problem.

Housing societies in Vastrapur such as Akash-II, Satyam Bungalows, Shabri Kutir, Sanskruti Bungalows, Nandeep Bungalows and Krishna Apartment, to name a few, used to have peaceful roads in their area. But all that is now in the past. Now, the traffic in these areas more than doubles on weekdays while during weekends it's like hell for them, say residents. "In the evenings on weekends,  traffic situation goes from bad to worst. A guest who visited my place last Sunday took 45 minutes to reach Satyam Bungalow (behind Alpha One Mall) from Sanjivani Hospital," said Harish Patel, treasurer of Satyam Bungalow.

Similarly, Hiren Patel, secretary of Akash-II, said that visitors to the theatres and malls in the area park their vehicles on the internal roads, causing traffic congestion outside their societies.

The mall authorities, however, claim that they have made provision for parking of vehicles. "The mall has three-layer parking space that can accommodate 1200 cars or 800 cars and 800 two-wheelers," said a spokesperson of Alpha One Mall.

Nilesh Jajadia, deputy commissioner of police, Traffic department (west), said that the traffic department manages main roads and is not in a position to control traffic on the internal roads.
"However, traffic on the internal roads seem to be a nuisance and the residents should lodge a complaint with the local police," he said.

The residents have also formed a Vastrapur Residential Association and made representations right upto the chief minister's office. They have alleged that there have been malpractices in construction and in obtaining various permissions for mall and theatre.

Now the residents are thinking of initiating action on their own to solve the problem. "It seems that we will ourselves have to stop people from parking their vehicles beside the roads. Only then can vehicles pass easily without causing traffic congestion," said Hiren Patel. The association is also mulling the option of taking legal action in case the residents do not get justice from the authorities concerned.